


In Another Parallel Universe

by Twinklylightseverywhere



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Happy Ending, M/M, Magical Realism, Parallel Universes, spook - Freeform, this ones a lil scary yeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 05:21:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16510127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twinklylightseverywhere/pseuds/Twinklylightseverywhere
Summary: Maybe parallel universes aren't as romantic as Isak once thought.





	In Another Parallel Universe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whovian1243](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whovian1243/gifts).



> Hi everyone! Before I address the huge elephant in the room let me first introduce this fic!  
> To [Sarah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whovian1243/pseuds/whovian1243), my bb. Happy halloween my little aussie/dane. This is for you, as a part of the Secret Monster Fic Exchange. I really hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing this! I hope this is spooky enough and I really hope that you enjoy, love <3
> 
> And uhhh..... yeah I know I haven't posted in 20 years.... I'm really sorry, I am actually having my ass kicked by uni right now, and I just got a new job that's take up so much of my time. I'm reallyreallyreally sorry. I haven't abandoned all my other works. So long as the interest is still there from y'all, then I will continue writing. I really am sorry. I hope you enjoy this short lil spooky thing for my favourite holiday ever. Enjoy!

In hindsight, if Isak had been asked about what he and Even had been fighting about that wednesday evening during dinner, he honestly couldn’t recall.

All he knows is that right now, he and Even are shouting at each other. Something about not Even not doing the laundry, but then again, Isak always crowds up the laundry basket too fast and-

Yeah, so it’s pretty stupid.

To put it bluntly, Isak’s had a shit day. Wednesdays were always the toughests days out of his week, given the fact that he had two labs which took up all his time. Isak normally loved his labs, as stressful as they were. However, today, he’d managed to fuck everything up for the group that he’d been working with, leading to an embarrassing telling off by the lab instructor in front of everyone. And then, on the tram home, he’d managed to spill his half-empty water bottle in his backpack, resulting in many haphazardly strewn, but important notes for his bio midterm next week, to get all soggy and stained. And  _ then, _ just as a little cherry on top, in his haste to get his open water bottle away from his schoolwork, he’d managed to dump the rest of its contents onto his lap. Despite it just being water, it didn’t stop the little kid sat across him from shouting, “Mummy! He just peed himself!” loud enough to alert the entire tram carriage. So, yeah. What a wonderful day.

And then he’d gotten home to Even, hoping to settle down and cuddle for the rest of the night, only to find dirty clothes strewn across the living room and almost no food in the fridge. Rationally, he knew that Even had had a long day at work, and probably hadn’t had time to start laundry or do some grocery shopping. However, in Isak’s soggy, tired, and sensitive state, he’d been snappy with Even all night, only answering with one-word answers or grunts.

And annoyingly, Even had picked up on it right away. Being as hyper-attuned to Isak as he always was, asked right away what was wrong, which had escalated quickly.

And now, they were shouting at each other.

“Fucking hell, Even,” Isak groans, throwing his head back and rolling his eyes. “I know that I shouldn’t expect you to do all the grocery shopping, but this isn’t the first time I’ve  _ asked  _ you to do the shopping and have come home to find nothing in the fridge! I had such a long day today, I don’t always want to do everything around here-”

“You think  _ you  _ do everything around here?” Even interjects, his calm facade now long gone, something that Isak rarely sees. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? I’m the one who is working a shitty full-time job so that we can afford the food and rent in the first place!”

“Oh, so you want me to stop going to university so that I can start working full-time?” Isak shouts, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “Even though my education will get us more money in the future?”

“Are you saying that I can’t do the same thing?” his boyfriend argues, eyes glinting with the stubbornness that Isak normally loves, but right now, absolutely despises. 

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Isak scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re more than capable of that, but that shit takes time! All I’m asking is that you do what I ask-”

“Like you do the same thing for me!” Even cries, his cheekbones flushed an unnatural red. “It’s a fucking two-way street, Isak, and you never do the things that I ask you to do either!”

“Fucking whatever!” Isak cries, more in exasperation than in livid anger. He isn’t really angry with Even right now, but his pride won’t let him calm down. “I’m going on a walk, just leave me the fuck alone for a few hours.”

“Isak!” Even says, taking a step forward to try and reach his boyfriend. “It’s raining outside, and it’s freez-”

“I don’t care!” Isak says, ignoring his coat from the hook at the front entrance, opening the unlocked front door, and slamming it behind him.

Perhaps it isn’t a good idea to go out in the rain, especially considering the winds have picked up, and Isak thinks he can hear rumbling thunder in the distance. Pride holds him back from returning to Even, however. Instead, he crosses his bare arms against the cold, and begins to the storm away from their apartment block.

“Isak!” Cries Even’s voice in the distance, almost unheard from the howling winds hitting Isak’s ears. But he hears it. He always hears Even.

“Isak!” the voice is a lot closer now, a hand on his shoulder, halting his walking.

Isak spins around to find Even, who is equally drenched as himself.

“Don’t do this, please,” Even begs, his eyes wide and sad. “Just come back home with me, we’ll figure this out.”

Isak opens his mouth to respond, when a movement behind Even catches his eyes.

At first, he thinks it’s just something moving through the wind, perhaps a stray piece of litter, but no. It  _ is _ the wind, swirling in strange clouds above he and Even’s heads, surrounding them. It’s the wind that whistles in Isak’s ears, and almost makes it impossible to hear Even.

“Baby?” Even says, or at least, his mouth makes the motions.

“I don’t know,” Isak replies, shaking his head.

Even lifts his head to look at the clouds surrounding them, his quiff long gone, lying flat on his forehead. Isak lifts his head to match his boyfriends gaze, training his full attention on the sight above them, and  _ wow. _

The clouds swirl in bizarre shades of red and black above their heads, descending in misty puffs. Isak and Even meet gazes again. Even looks terrified. 

Something fierce roars in Isak’s chest. He abandons all anger, all the arguments that they had minutes ago. He reaches out to his boyfriend, throwing his arms around Even’s shoulders, clutching onto his home desperately.

“I love you,” Isak shouts into Even’s ear, just loud enough that he can hear himself over the howling wind. Even’s hands grasp Isak’s t-shirt tight as he buries his face into Isak’s neck.

“I love you too,” is the last thing that Isak hears before another gust of wind overtakes them, screaming in Isak’s ears. It leaves him breathless, knocks them around, unsteady on their feet. Isak leaves his feet planted to the ground however, and hangs on for dear life. He hangs onto Even as the mist and the clouds fall onto them, blurring his vision. Isak closes his eyes tightly, visions of red and black leaving imprints in his mind, swirling around them, enveloping them-

 

“Isak?” Even whispers in Isak’s ear.

Silence falls upon them. The rain has stopped, however, Isak and Even are completely drenched. The wind that was once howling now rings in Isak’s ears, a faint reminder of how loud it had actually been.

“Yeah?” Isak asks, perhaps a little delayed.

“Open your eyes, baby,” Even whispers, nudging him gently by bumping his nose gently into Isak’s damp neck.

Isak opens his eyes, and immediately closes the back up again.

Everything is red. Well maybe not everything. However, the red sky reflects into the damp street  underneath their feet. Everything is silent, perhaps too silent. However, Isak knows they’re not alone in this street. Sure, there are no cars, and the apartment buildings around them are dark and appear uninhabited, however, Isak feels eyes on the back of his neck. 

He freezes against Even’s frame, clutching onto Even’s jacket much more fiercely again. His stomach falls to his feet, and naively, perhaps, he believes that if he stays in Even’s arms, that nothing can hurt him anymore.

“What the fuck,” Isak whispers shakily, failing to draw in a full breath.

“I don’t know,” Even replies, his voice equally shaky. “Don’t turn around.”

Isak fights every single one of his instincts, and instead, buries his nose into Even’s shoulder. “Why not?”

“Because there’s someone watching us,” Even says, his voice oddly even. “And they’re getting closer.”

“Why is that a bad thing?” Isak asks, even though he knows that whoever is watching them isn’t good. Call it an instinct. Call it whatever. Any random stranger walking around Trondheim in the evening would be no reason to cause alarm. But this wasn’t any random stranger, and Isak knew it.

“They’re staring at me,” Even whispers. “They aren’t moving.”

“Baby, maybe we should go,” Isak says, a little louder, as if to alert the stranger.

“It’s you,” Even says. The hairs on the back of Isak’s neck raise alarmingly as he whips around to confront whoever it is-

“Baby, maybe we should go,” echoes the stranger, in the exact same tone, exact same timber as Isak. 

Isak sobs involuntarily as he looks at himself, or at least, what appears to be a carbon copy of himself.

“You’re crazy,” it shouts into the street, oddly shrill in a way that Isak normally isn’t. “You’re crazy and I can’t handle it anymore.”

“Even,” Isak pleads, tugging on Even’s sleeve. Even remains unresponsive, staring at the  _ thing  _ in front of them. “Even,” Isak repeats pleadingly. “That’s not me.”

“I know,” Even whispers back. Isak dares a glance away from the thing to look at his boyfriend. Even is pale, his expression blank, bar for the single tear that runs down his face.

“We gotta get out of here,” Isak insists, tugging on Even’s sleeve more insistently.

“You’re going to be alone,” it screams, as Isak’s chest continues to tighten. “You’re always going to be alone in your own head. I can’t do anything for you.”

“Even, it’s not real!” Isak pleads to his unresponsive boyfriend. “I love you, I’m not leaving you.”

Even swallows, his adam's apple bobbing up and down.

“We need to  _ go,”  _ Isak says again. “Come on, baby.”

“Yeah,” Even echoes shakily, finally unfreezing to look at Isak briefly.

Isak tugs his arm along, backing away from the thing slowly, never taking his eyes off it. Even follows him, walking backwards, his feet stumbling on the wet pavement slightly.

“Even,” Isak whispers, steadying his boyfriend with his hands. “Run.”

Even looks at Isak once more, seemingly snapping fully into motion. Together, their feet take off on the pavement, running towards their flat subconsciously, despite the fact that the entire block is completely dark.

Their feet slap along the road, splashing into puddles along the way. Even isn’t looking back, Isak, however, is.

The thing isn’t following them. However, it continues to stare at Isak, its eyes reflecting the blood red sky.

Adrenaline causes Isak to run faster, grabbing only onto Even’s sleeve to pull him along at the same speed. He can’t lose Even, he  _ can’t. _

Finally, they reach their apartment block, and Isak pats his pockets for his keys as they pant at the doorway, Even frantically glancing behind them when-

“Fuck!” Isak roars, patting his empty pockets to no avail. “I didn’t bring my keys with me!”

Even curses, patting his own jacket pockets, his hands coming out empty.

“Are you serious?” Isak cries as Even desperately checks his empty jean pockets as well. “You didn’t bring your keys with you?”

“Fucking excuse me,” Even snaps sarcastically, his chest heaving. “I was a little preoccupied by my melodramatic boyfriend leaving the flat in a storm in just a t-shirt-”

“Oh, so this is my fault-”

“Even?” says a new voice, female, familiar, right in front of them.

Isak and Even jump, and then turn to the new voice.

_ “Sonja?” _ Even says incredulously, blinking his eyes in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Sonja replies, her voice oddly monotone. She turns to Isak. 

“Um…” Isak trails off, not entirely sure what to say. “Okay?”

“Since when did you move to Trondheim?” Even asks, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

“Isak,” she says, completely ignoring Even’s question. “You know that Even is going to leave you, right?”

“What the fuck, Sonja” Even cries out, throwing his arms out in exasperation. 

“You know that he doesn't love you, right?” she says, her eyes glinting maliciously in the red of the night. “He’s just staying with you because he feels bad for you.”

“What?” Isak chokes, his stomach sinking.

“I mean,  _ come on,” _ Sonja drawls out, taking a step closer to Isak. “You really think he wanted to stay with you after he found out about what you did to Eva and Jonas? Or how you punched his best friend because you couldn’t control your temper? You’re too unpredictable for him, Isak. He needs stability in his life.”

Isak stops breathing. “No,” he chokes out, but it comes out strangled. He looks to Even, who is frozen once more.

He wants to reassure Even, he really does. Of course he loves Even, of course he never wants to leave him. But Sonja is right. He can’t control his own bloody temper, he lets his jealousy get the best of him. Even tonight, he’d shouted at Even because of something that Even had nothing to do with. How could Even depend on him when Isak took out his anger on him? How did that make Isak deserving of Even? 

“Fuck you, Sonja,” Even says shakily, his hand reaching out to Isak’s, clutching onto his sweaty palm desperately. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, not anymore.”

“Isak,” Sonja continues, once again ignoring Even. “He’s going to break up with you. You’re not good enough for him-”

“Isak,” Even says urgently, his eyes suddenly wide and terrified.

“What?” Isak says absentmindedly, not even bothering to stop his head from spinning, his ears from ringing, from staring right into Sonja’s red eyes.

“That’s not Sonja.”

Sonja, or rather, the  _ thing  _ grins.

“Isak, run!” Isak hears in his peripheral. His hand is being yanked to the side, and Isak stumbles along, pain shooting up his wrist as he feels the blunt impact on his joints. The pain subsides quickly, however, as Isak begins running again.

“Keep going, baby,” Even’s voice pants as Isak stumbles behind him. “It’s okay, we just need to find a place to hide!”

As luck would have it, an abandoned tram stop is close in the distance, coming closer with every slap of their feet along the road.

“We’ll hide in a carriage!” Even says, tugging Isak’s hand with increased fervour.

Something in Isak snaps awake, and finally, he pays attention to his feet, and stops stumbling along. 

When they reach the train carriage, Even pries the doors open, cursing as they don’t budge.

Isak springs into action, throwing all his strength onto one side of the door. Even pulls onto the other side, and finally, the doors give, wrenching apart slowly.

“That’s enough!” Isak shouts as the opening becomes wide enough for them to both fit. He places his hand on Even’s shoulder and guides him inside. Isak steps in behind him. 

Together, they push the the doors shut again and turn towards each other.

“We’ll hide between the seats, come on,” Even urges, and together, they crouch, hopefully hidden out of sight.

Isak looks at his boyfriend. The love of his life, crouched on the floor, his skin bathed red from the sky outside. Isak launches himself forward into Even’s arms, burrowing his nose into Even’s clammy neck.

“What the fuck is happening,” Isak whispers, swallowing back his sob.

“I don’t know,” Even whispers back, rubbing his hand along Isak’s back. “But I know that that thing isn’t human.”

“It was right though,” Isak says, peeling himself away from the embrace in order to look into Even’s eyes. “I’m too unpredictable for you. For fuck’s sake, I took out my anger on you tonight because I had a bad day. That isn’t okay.”

“If it was right then you would’ve left me already,” Even scoffs, reaching out to cup Isak’s cheeks. “It both told us things that we were scared of happening, It  _ knew  _ that.”

“But what if they do happen?” Isak whispers, looking down at his lap.

“What if we don’t let them?” Even counters, placing one of his hands underneath Isak’s chin to nudge his head up. “What if we’re a normal couple that sometimes takes their anger out on each other after a bad day? Isak, if you remember, I took my anger out on you as well.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Isak sobs, tears welling up in his eyes involuntarily. “And I don’t want you to leave me. And I’m so sorry for tonight. I was such a shithead to you.”

“You were a shithead,” Even chuckles, tears of his own welling up in his eyes. Isak giggles, not just at the little joke, but at the absurdity of the whole situation. “But guess what, so was I. And I’m sorry too.”

“I love you,” Isak sniffs, launching himself into Even’s embrace again. “I love you so much and I’m so fucking scared right now.”

“I love you too,” Even gasps, clutching onto Isak even tighter. “I love you so much.”

_ “Isak…”  _ says a voice, right outside the carriage, echoing into the evil of the night.

“Nonono,” Isak moans, burying his face into Even’s chest, his stomach sinking once again.

“I won’t let it hurt you baby,” Even whispers, however, his brave facade is given away by the pounding of his heart. 

A very different kind of pounding on the window on the window makes them both jump, as Isak muffles his shriek into Even’s collarbone. 

_ “Isak…”  _ says Even’s voice outside, and once again, Isak hears the wind picking up, whistling through the air. 

“Baby, listen to me,” Even’s real voice whispers in Isak’s ears, washing over him with familiarity and warmth. “I’m right here, I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I love you too,” Isak whispers, picking himself up from Even’s chest and leaning in to press a desperate kiss to Even’s lips.

“I love you, I’m so sorry,” Isak mumbles desperately against Even’s lips. Even lets out a shaky sigh, and raises his hand to tangle into Isak’s damp hair as he kisses back, sliding his tongue desperately along Isak’s lower lip.

“I love you,” Even whispers back in between kisses, desperate and wet and frantic.

The howling continues, even louder, however, Isak and Even never let go. They never will let go. Not ever, not anymore.

The tram carriage rattles with the strength of the wind, the rain pelting along the windows along with the pounding of the  _ thing. _

The sounds are muffled in Isak’s ears, especially as the rain starts hitting his chilled skin again, drenching he and Even, a sort of fucked-up approximation of all those months ago in the pool back in Oslo.

Isak doesn't hear the pounding anymore, and the wind has stopped blowing against his skin. Instead, a light drizzle remains.

Isak pulls back from the wet kiss reluctantly as it inevitably slows, and opens his eyes.

They’re on the side of the road, right in front of their apartment building, lying in each other’s arms.

Even opens his eyes, and looks up toward the sky. Isak follows his gaze, to find the regular black sky of the night staring back up at them. They share a simultaneous sigh of relief, and then look back down at each other.

“Is it done?” Even croaks, his voice hoarse, presumably from all the shouting they’d done.

“I think so,” Isak replies, his own voice equally hoarse. 

“Can we go home?” Even asks, reaching out to grab Isak’s hand. His other hand steadies himself on the pavement as he begins to stand up, helping Isak up as well.

“You don’t have keys though,” Isak points out, his legs giving a sigh of relief as they stretch out. He looks up at Even, who pats his pockets once more.

“I thought I brought them with me, though,” Even replies, and then, as his hand pats his back pocket, he exclaims out a quick, “Hah!”

He brings the keys into Isak’s line of vision, and Isak blanches.

“What the fuck?” Isak says, throwing his arms up in confusion. “You didn’t have them on you when-”

“I know,” Even replies, shaking his head in confusion. “I don’t even care, I just want to go home.”

“Yeah,” Isak says, reaching out and taking Even’s hand once more. “But Even?”

“Yeah, baby?” Even replies, reaching out to grab Isak’s other hand as well.

“I don’t really want to think about parallel universes again,” Isak says, meeting the eyes of the love of his life, his home. “I’m more than happy with you, right here in this universe.”

“Me too,” Even smiles sheepishly, his eyes trailing down to Isak’s lips once before training back on his eyes.

Isak leans in a kisses Even sweetly, briefly, before pulling away. Even smiles even wider, nuzzling his nose against Isak’s.

“Come on, baby,” Isak whispers. “Let’s go home.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Come chat yo!](https://unendeligtid.tumblr.com/)  
> I was inspired by stories about Skinwalkers for the monster of this fic. If you haven't read up on lore and don't like being scared, then uh,,,, I wouldn't bother reading about them. That shit's terrifying bruh. I hope you liked this lil spooky take on parallel universes!   
> Love, Noah


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